• Do-nothing Palaszczuk Government waits almost two years to launch first statewide tourism campaign• Queensland dropped to third in domestic share of tourism since Labor has been in Government• Palaszczuk Government fails to realise the tourism industry’s importance to the Queensland economy

Queensland’s standing as Australia’s second-most visited destination was lost to Victoria while the Palaszczuk Government sat on its hands for almost two years before launching their first statewide tourism campaign today.

Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls described the announcement as the “campaign of missed opportunities”.

“It’s been almost two years and we are finally seeing a statewide and international tourism campaign being launched by this do-nothing Palaszczuk Labor Government,” Mr Nicholls said.

“It’s no wonder Victoria has overtaken Queensland in the past two years when it comes to international overnight visitation and their spending.

“If tourism was such a high priority for the Palaszczuk Government, they wouldn’t have sat on their hands and waited so long to launch this campaign.

“Their timing is questionable – tourists have already locked in their plans for the Christmas and New Year period, which shows tourism Minister Kate Jones doesn’t have a considered plan for the industry.

“Why has it taken this long for Annastacia Palaszczuk and Kate Jones to realise the tourism industry is a driver of Queensland jobs and growth in our economy?

“The tourism market is worth over $5 billion to our economy every year and more than 20,000 jobs are predicted in the tourism industry over the next four years, but that won’t happen without a proper plan.”